We paired this lovely wine with fresh cod, an asparagus dish, leeks and challah (bread).

Unfamiliar with Viognier? Below is a link from one of my favorite websites, (I’m sure you already know this by now!) Wine Folly. Wine Folly does a great job at breaking down what a Viognier is all about and offers suggestions on different types of food to pair with it.

This weeks Wine of the Week is also very special because we picked up this bottle on our last trip to France! We purchased this bottle at an independently owned wine shop in Nice, France for around the equivalent of about thirty U.S. dollars.

Notes:

From the Rhône Valley, this wine is bursting with flavors of cherries, pepper, licorice, lavender and minerals.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with this variety of wine, Wine Folly does a great job explaining what it’s all about! Click the link below:

This weeks Wine of the Week is from a very special weekend getaway I took to San Francisco recently. We met up with a friend at a Mano, a modern, upscale Italian restaurant. For the appetizer, we ordered the cauliflower with lemon, chili and bagna cauda. For dinner, we ordered the margarita pizza and the chestnut campanelle and brussels sprouts pasta. Everything was incredible! We paired the food with the Italian red which the waitress recommended, and I’m so glad we did because all of the flavors blended so well with each other. For pricing, the bottle of Nebbiolo at a Mano was $48. I tried to find more info on this wine by looking at their website (https://malabaila.com/) but found it quite hard due to the fact that it’s an Italian website.

I’d defiantly recommend this wine and this restaurant for anyone living in San Francisco or for people traveling/passing through. It had a great ambiance to it… dimly lit with indoor and outdoor seating and a decor that had both a modern and artistic aesthetic. The pricing for the wine and food was affordable as well for how good of quality everything was.

To learn more about their wine list and outstanding food options visit their website at: http://amanosf.com/

Also, for those who don’t know…

What is Nebbiolo wine?

I actually didn’t know the finer details until tasting this bottle that night. Attached below is a link from Wine Folly that does an excellent job in describing what a Nebbiolo wine is all about.

This weeks Wine of the Week is a 2016 Riesling from Artis. From my home state of Oregon this is a wonderful white from the Yamhill-Carlton area.

Notes include an intense blend of mixed fruits with a crisp, acidic finish. Highly recommended for those with a sweet tooth this holiday season!

What to pair with Riesling? Below is a link from Food & Wine that has an incredible breakdown of different kinds of Riesling and what to pair them with. https://www.google.com/amp/amp.foodandwine.com/slideshows/riesling-pairings

This weeks Wine of the Week is a 2015 Grand Estates Columbia Crest Syrah. I thought why not write about a local wine? Columbia Valley is known for making incredible reds.

Notes include mixed spices, pepper, currants, berries and a hint of cedar. I found this bottle at QFC (grocery store chain owned by Kroger) for about $9.99, on sale from $12. The bottle is priced at $12 online at http://www.columbiacrest.com. I found out from their website that this bottle received 91 points from Wine Enthusiast and “Best Buy” in September 2017. Very interesting and highly rated! To learn more about their wines defiantly check out their website. Columbia Crest makes many different kinds of delicious wines!

What is Syrah? What pairs best with Syrah? For those who aren’t familiar with it visit the link below from Wine Folly. I found this article to be super helpful and insightful!

This weeks Wine of the Week is a 2017 Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand. This bottle was found at Leschi Market in Seattle, WA originally $19.99 and on sale for $12.99. I found that this bottle can be purchase at an even better price though from: https://www.wine.com/product/villa-maria-private-bin-sauvignon-blanc-2017/331846 for only $9.99!

Notes include crisp, fresh lime and ripe passionfruit. Villa Maria recommends pairing this wine with seafood and white meat. We decided to pair it with a grilled Ahi tuna salad.